o
bout mong his color and teach em fo little what they could slip him
along. He teached some to read. When freedom he went to Augusta. My
brother seed him and said "Solomon, what you doin here?" and he said "I
am er teaching school to my own color." Then he said they run him out of
Virginia cause he was learnin his color and he kept going. Some white
folks up North learned him to read and cipher. He used a black slate and
he had a book he carried around to teach folks with. He was what they
called a ginger cake color. They would whoop you if they seed you with
books learnin. Mighty few books to get holt of fo the war. We mark on
the ground. The passes bout all the paper I ever seed fo I come to
Tennessee. Then I got to go to school a little.

Whah would the niggers get guns and shoot to start a uprisin? Never had
none cept if a white man give it to him. When you a slave you don't have
nothin cept a big fireplace and plenty land to work. They cook on the
fireplace. Niggers didn't have no guns fo the war an nuthin to shoot in
one if he had one whut he picked up somewhere after the war. The Ku Klux
done the uprisin. They say they won't let the nigger enjoy freedom. They
killed a lot of black folks in Georgia and a few white folks whut they
said was in wid em. We darkies had nuthin to do wid freedom. Two or
three set down on you, take leaves and build a fire and burn their feet
nearly off. That the way the white folks treat the darky.

I never knowed nobody to hold office. Them whut didn't want to starve
got someplace whut he could hold a plow handle. You don't know whut hard
times is. Dem was hard times. They used to hide in big cane brakes,
nearly wild and nearly starved. Scared to come out. I ain't wanted to go
back to Georgia.

The folks I lived wid fo I come to Tennessee, he tanned hides down at
the branch and made shoes and he made cloth hats, wool hats. He sold
them. We farmed but I watched them up at the house minu a time.

One thing I recollect mighty well. Fo de war a big bellied great monster
man come in an folks made a big to do over him. He eat round and laughed
round havin a big time. His name was Mr. Wimbeish (?). He wo white
britches wid red stripes down the sides and a white shad tail coat all
trimmed round de edges wid red and a tall beaver hat. He blowed a bugle
and marched all the men every Friday ebening. He come to Miss Frances.
They fed him on pies and cakes and me brushin the flies off im and my